A powerful new production, Overwhelm, will premiere at The Bread & Roses Theatre in Clapham from Saturday 18th to Sunday 19th October 2025.
Written and directed by Stacey Cullen, Overwhelm explores male loneliness, addiction, and the rise of radicalisation. The play offers a rare female perspective on a subject often told exclusively through the male lens.
Following the lives of three young men—Jake, Miles, and Riley—the production examines the intersection of silence, masculinity, and mental health. Drawing from real-life experiences, Overwhelm stages these pressures in real time.
The cast includes Sam Bates (Death of the West, And Then I’ll Sleep), Louis Martino (Theodosia, Candy Cigs), and Max Burnett (Hedda Gabler, Equinox).
The creative team features assistant director Adam Halcro (Casualty, Sessions, At Last), dramaturg Mollie Biddlecombe (My Dad: The Woman, The Myth, The Legend, I’m Lying to Your Face), and movement director Marina Hata (Shakespeare in Concert, Sanspective, Intransigent Lines).
Stacey Cullen said:
“It would have been simple enough to write something about young women, what we go through, but there was something terribly interesting to me about trying to understand and empathise with this generation’s young men. It felt like more of a challenge, chiefly because it isn’t based in my own lived experiences, but also because it’s so easy to treat young men with disdain – to paint them as unsympathetic, cold, uncaring, and toxic. But what happens when we start to examine the circumstances that surround a young man’s descent into so-called ‘toxicity’? What happens when we examine the societal pressures that push them to the fringes? That’s the egg we’re trying to crack here. With Overwhelm, I wanted to make something that reminded young men that it’s okay to not be okay. It’s okay to ask for help. It’s okay – and even masculine – to be vulnerable.”
Overwhelm runs for 80 minutes and is recommended for ages 14+, containing strong language, substance abuse, sexual reference, and misogyny.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
